


The Lost Kindred

by SoraxXenon



Series: The Lost Kindred [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraxXenon/pseuds/SoraxXenon
Summary: I explain what this book is about and the world it takes place in.
Series: The Lost Kindred [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038622





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I explain what this book is about and the world it takes place in.

Hello? This is the author speaking.

Excuse me for breaking the fourth wall, but first I want to thank you for choosing my book out of the millions, maybe even billions of other books out there. It’s a tough market out there nowadays, filled with both young, aspiring authors and experienced, best-selling veterans. I’m not here to give a long-winded speech about them, though. What I’m doing here is giving you context on what this book is about.

For functional purposes, the universe in this book is nearly identical to ours. The biggest (and most important) difference is that many people are born with the innate ability to transform into something else. This ability is genetic and can be passed down to one’s children, if compatible. For example, if a person who is able to transform into a cat (for simplicity’s sake, will be referred to as just a “cat;” cats and other living beings who cannot transform into a human are called “wild”) were to mate with a human, there is a 50% chance that the offspring will also be a cat.

When in their human form, in order to tell which species they are, one must look at their eyes. Every species has its own unique eye shape, colour, and design. Another example is that spiders have multi-faceted irises. There are other traits, of course, but the eyes are a guaranteed tell, as not all of the other traits will appear in every single person. It’s common knowledge that people like these exist, and most don’t try to hide it, but you will see some attempt to be sneaky by wearing sunglasses or other eye coverings. There’s no reason for them to do this, though, and the facade normally doesn’t hold up for very long.

You’re likely becoming tired of my stalling, so I’ll cut to the chase and tell you what the species are. I’ll also give some information on them. In order from most common to least common: humans, plants, birds, cats, spiders, vampires, werewolves, nymphs, merfolk, cyborgs, ghosts, minotaur, and dragons.

Humans should be self-explanatory. They cannot transform into anything else, and have no special eye traits. They’re the definition of boring. Insulting, yes, but frankly it’s the truth. Lucky for us, only one of the important characters is a human.

Plants can grow and manipulate vegetation at will. While they don’t transform into standard plants that don’t move, they can choose to engulf themselves in vines, flowers, and thorns. Their irises are typically bright colours that you will see in flowers, and have a leaf-like pattern. They have lush eyelashes and look like they are wearing eyeshadow, but it is a permanent marking.

Birds, when transformed, are capable of flight and moving at impressive speeds. Flightless birds do exist, but aren’t as common. Most birds have dark-coloured irises, but some of the more flamboyant and colourful birds have brighter irises. They have feather-like eyelashes and large pupils, and either have minimal or no sclera.

Cats are arguably the most well-known out of all of these species. They’re mischievous, charming, and of course adorable. Most resemble domesticated house cats, but big cats exist too, most notably lions, tigers, and jaguars. Due to the unique shape of their feet when transformed, cats do not wear shoes. Their irises can be green, yellow, orange, or blue, and most have slit pupils that dilate in dim light.

Spiders are greatly misunderstood, but it quickly becomes clear as to why that is the case. All spiders have a natural instinct to hunt, which if ignored can result in one becoming agitated and violent. If neglected for too long, don’t be surprised if it results in a murderous rampage. Aside from that, spiders have enhanced senses, night vision, and can craft intricate, sticky webs from their fingertips as well as spit either a noxious poison or corrosive acid. They can use their webs to climb up walls with ease. As mentioned earlier, they have multi-faceted irises that can be any colour, and their pupils share the same colour as the irises.

Vampires are difficult to spot, as they nearly went extinct a long time ago. Purebloods, as in those who were born as vampires, are almost impossible to find. Most vampires that you’ll meet nowadays were previously human. A bite from any vampire will instantly turn a human into a vampire, but it will not be passed down to offspring. If bitten, plants, birds, and cats will become sick with what is known as a “bloody cold,” due to its initial cold-like symptoms. If left untreated, the wound will start bleeding profusely and the victim will either die from blood loss or from infection. Spiders, nymphs, and merfolk are completely unaffected by vampire bites, while werewolves and minotaur will die almost immediately if bitten. Contrary to popular belief, vampires will not die if exposed to sunlight or garlic; it is simply like any other allergy. They have a marking on their eyes that is similar to the Eye of Ra, and slit pupils. Their irises can be any colour, but tend to be bright and unnatural such as red, purple, and even white.

Werewolves are even more challenging to spot, as they are only able to transform when there is a full, harvest, or blood moon, or an eclipse. They are at their strongest during a full blood moon. They have three markings below each eye that look like rips in fabric, and their irises are typically pale and, alongside their pupils, constricted.

Nymphs, although very similar to plants, should not be mistaken for them. While plants can only manipulate existing vegetation, nymphs can create it from seemingly thin air. Nymphs are also excellent healers and can fix most physical injuries. Their eyes are similar to plants, but their irises lack the leaf-like pattern and instead have at least two colours in each eye.

Merfolk are well in tune with water, and make amazing swimmers. Due to having gills on their neck, they can also breathe both in water and on land. They always have fin-like markings on their eyes and have a black ring around the pupil, but iris colours vary as well as their teeth. Merfolk with bright eyes and flat teeth are standard fish, dark eyes and sharp teeth are sharks and dolphins, and dull eyes with both flat and sharp teeth are whales.

Cyborgs are any species that have over 40% of their body replaced with cybernetics, either slowly by choice or spontaneously after an accident. They have all of the traits of their original species, in addition to enhanced physical capabilities. Sometimes one or both eyes are replaced with mechanical eyes.

Ghosts aren’t a species by themselves, but rather are the consciousness of a deceased person that has not been able to move on; in other words, they have unfinished business. The ability to speak varies, depending on their level of trauma. The more violent their death was, the less likely they’ll be able to speak, and they retain all of their injuries. Some of their abilities will remain if they were originally not a human, such as a vampire’s bite or a werewolf’s transformation. Less commonly, ghosts will possess a living body or an inanimate object, either to feel alive again or cause trouble. The host usually cannot know if they are being possessed, making it a mostly unknown phenomenon. All ghosts’ eyes appear as if they were blind, but that does not necessarily mean they are.

You likely know minotaur as legendary beasts, but in reality they’re much less intimidating. They have an innate, immense strength that can eventually become record-breaking with enough training. They have scraggly, lightning bolt-like markings around their eyes and their irises appear to have “veins” in them.

Okay, I know I said I’ll be giving information on all of the species, but you’re on your own for the dragons. Sorry, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise. For now I’m leaving you with the knowledge that they exist.

Enjoy!


	2. Another Standard Day...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay receives a strange phone call from an unknown number and asks for Outlaw's help to investigate.

Another standard day. I hope.

My name is Jay Rogotski. I’m a sophomore at Germaine High School, and I just turned 16 last week. Boring, I know, but it gets worse. You know how there are all of these people that can turn into awesome beasts? I’m not one of them. As much as I wish I were, at the very least I don’t have to worry about accidentally sprouting wings or something, which is convenient.

My parents don’t really acknowledge my existence. They leave me alone and don’t bother me for the most part, but that also means that I’m sort of on my own when it comes to taking care of myself. I have to drive myself to school (and work), make my own meals, and pay for everything that isn’t internet and cell service, medication, or other basic necessities. But it’s not like it matters that much, anyway. I’m going to leave the house eventually, I might as well be prepared for it.

Of course, like all alloromantic teenage boys, I have a crush. In my case, it’s the popular merman, Jeremy Martinez. He’s in a few of my classes and we talk from time to time, but I feel like he’s way out of my league. And yes, I know what you’re thinking, “Loner falls in love with popular kid! What a scandal!” You’re right, except that I don’t consider myself a loner. It’s pretty much just quality over quantity when it comes to friends.

The door creaks loudly on its old hinges as it swings open, narrowly avoiding hitting the wall. The first warning bell rings shortly after. I don’t pay attention to who entered the door, due to my face being glued to my manga book. A friend of mine recommended I read  _ Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! _ , so I’ve been doing that, and so far I like it. I’m already sitting at my desk, since I always arrive early, but nobody comes in until after the last warning bell. I’m not sure why that’s the case, but it’s not my problem. 

Somebody taps my shoulder and says, “Hey, Jay,” in a questioning tone, interrupting my train of thought. The English accent sounds familiar. I look up from my book and see that it’s Jeremy. Sticking a scrap of paper in the book and closing it, I casually ask, “What’s up?” Despite my anxiety kicking in, I try to stay calm.

“Can I copy your homework?” Jeremy lowers his voice to a whisper, presumably so the teacher doesn’t hear him. “I forgot it was due today.”

“Yeah, sure, just change it up a bit.” I search my cluttered messenger bag full of unorganized papers. Thankfully, the one I’m searching for is easy to find, as it’s printed on yellow paper. “Here you go,” I say while handing it over to Jeremy.

“Thanks, Jay! I promise I’ll be quick!”

“No worries. Take your time,” I call to him as he sits down at his desk. I reopen my book and continue reading, though at this point it’s just an attempt at distracting myself from staring at Jeremy. It’s not working very well. I know he’s still there, and that alone is making me very nervous.  _ God, I’m hopelessly— _

Suddenly my phone goes off like crazy, once again interrupting my train of thought. The warning music starts playing. Ignoring that, I check to see what’s making my phone go off. It’s a call from an unknown number.

“Excuse me, Mr. Thompson, but I have to take this,” I shout across the room at my chemistry teacher, who shrugs and responds with a deadpan, “Make it quick.” I nod as a silent thank you and head out into the hallway.

I answer the phone, greeting the other person with my standard sing-songy “hello.” But I don’t hear anything on the other end. No speaking, no background noise, not even feedback. Just dead silence. Then the call ends without the other person saying a word. “What the hell…” I mutter under my breath. Just as I start to move, I receive a voicemail from the same number. I decide to listen to it. It’s a person with a feminine voice speaking in an unfamiliar language. At some point, they say my full name, which startles me. I immediately message the number.

_ Who are you, and how do you know my name? _

This has wasted enough of my time. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb, shove it into the pocket of my hoodie, and return to class just as the last warning bell rings. I won’t let this weirdness distract me from school.

The first warning bell rings again. After shoving my notebook and papers into my bag and heading towards my next class, I immediately check my phone again, turning off Do Not Disturb. The mystery number messaged me back. I can’t read what they said, though. It’s in Russian. Maybe that’s the language they were speaking in the voicemail. Looks like it’s time to message my universal translator.

I open Discord and search my DMs for the ridiculous username, sweatynachos25. It doesn’t take me long to find him, since he was the most recent person I messaged today.

_ Me: Hey, can you translate this for me real quick? A random number sent it to me. _

I then copy and paste the message that was sent.

_ Him: “jaymison rogotski, you must find me and expose the truth.” no idea what that means. did anything else happen? _

I explain what happened.

_ Him: that’s weird. show me the voicemail at lunch. we’ll talk then. _

All I say is  _ okay  _ before shoving my phone in my pocket. That cat is one of the most interesting people I know. For one, apparently he knows every single language known to man, including dead and dying ones. I don’t know how that’s so, but the implications scare me. Second, nobody knows what his actual name is. He shows up in all records as Outlaw, so that’s what people call him. Unlike Jeremy, who I’ve only known since last year, Outlaw and I have been friends ever since I moved here, which was about five years ago. He’s pretty much my only real, consistent friend, and I’m damn glad he is.

Just as I reach my next class—which is my least favourite subject, English—the last warning bell rings. I quickly sit down and pull out my phone. I know, bad etiquette, but it’s the only way I can participate in class. All of the lessons and assignments are online, and the poor teacher can never get a chance to teach in person due to almost all of the students being excessively rowdy. With most other teachers, this would never fly, but Mr. Syrkette is, quite frankly, a pushover. This is great for those students who don’t care whether they pass or fail, but terrible for those who either actually want to learn or simply get the work done.  _ Whatever. As long as they don’t bother me, _ I keep telling myself. But it does bother me. I hate students like those, who think they can get away with screwing around and harassing others.

Someone pokes me on the shoulder. I ignore it and continue working. They poke me again, but I keep ignoring it.

“Yo, uh, what’s your name…” It’s one of the rowdy guys. “Oh yeah, it’s Jay! What are you doing, Jay?” I continue to ignore him. “Jaaaaay…” He keeps poking me, trying to get my attention. “What are you doing, Jay?”

“Take his phone. Maybe that’ll work,” another guy chimes in.

“Good idea.” Before he can manage to reach my phone, I involuntarily grab his arm and stand up. I don’t bother trying to make eye contact.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on?” Another guy seems to be freaking out.

“Y-Yeah, what gives, dude?”

“Leave. Me. Alone.” Those words are coming out of my mouth, but it doesn’t feel like me speaking.

“Alright, alright, jeez! Just let me go!” But I don’t let him go. My arm doesn’t want to move. Instead, the action my body decides to take is to throw the guy across the room. After that, the invisible force seems to disappear, and I can finally move on my own accord. I turn around to see the aftermath. The guy knocked over another student, causing them both to fall to the floor. In horror of what I just did, I take my bag and book it out of the class. I pull out my phone to text Outlaw and tell him what happened.

_ Him: oh crap. looks like the situation is escalating. this isn’t good. i’ll meet you in the bathroom outside the library. _

_ Me: Got it. _

Fortunately, the bathroom in question is one right turn away. As soon as I look up from my phone, I’m already at the intersection. I swiftly run inside the men’s bathroom and lock myself in a stall. Sighing in relief, I take out a different device from another pocket in my bag. It’s a small, inconspicuous pen vape. I double check to make sure it has juice in it, which it does, but barely enough to get me through the day. I take a short drag and blow some clouds out my nose.

Okay. I can think clearly now. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I understand what’s going on. Am I being possessed or something? That would explain why I was talking that way, and how I was able to pick that guy up. Number one, that’s not how I behave under any circumstance. Even if I was being shoved into a locker, I wouldn’t lash out and attack someone else. Number two, I’m not anywhere close to being able to lift another person, let alone with minimal effort. I can barely carry around heavy boxes. Sure, I’m tall, but that doesn’t mean I’m strong. I don’t think those two are related at all.

I hear a knock on the stall’s door. Light, light, heavy, light. That’s Outlaw and I’s secret knock. I unlock and open the door without hesitation, then lock it again as soon as he’s inside. I’m even more relieved as soon as I see him. Dark green fur, check. Fluffy tail, check. Unusually warm clothes in spite of the weather, check. Messy brown hair, check. Piercing green eyes, check. Yep. That’s Outlaw.

“Aight, let’s get the first thing out of the way,” he announces. Bonus points for the gravelly voice and generic Spanish-sounding accent. “Show me the voicemail.”

I do as he tells me. The voicemail echoes loudly, but Outlaw swipes my phone away before I can adjust the volume. He seems a bit disappointed after it finishes.

“What’s up? What did you find out?”

“It’s literally the same exact thing they said in the text.” Just as I try to take my phone back, Outlaw’s eyes brighten up and he starts typing. I can practically see the imaginary light bulb that just lit up above his head.

“Dude, what are you doing?” I ask, confused and trying to look over his shoulder.

“Getting some answers. I’ll let you know if they say anything interesting.”

“Okay.” I lean against a wall, taking another short drag and slowly letting clouds spill from my mouth. This time I actually get to taste what I put in. It’s a generic grape flavour, nothing too fancy. But I don’t have to worry about so-called “dangerous chemicals” in it, because I made it myself. It’s pretty easy, and way more cost-effective than buying juice. 

“Can I take a hit?” Outlaw asks, wiping his brow.

“Yeah, sure.” I hand it over to him. “There’s not much left, though.” He ignores me and takes a moderately long drag, then hands it back to me. Shortly after, his face becomes obscured by an impressive cloud blown out of both his mouth and nose.

I don’t have access to nicotine. Despite others saying how important it is, it’s probably a good thing that I don’t use it. I’d be getting nasty withdrawal headaches by now if I did, and for some reason that’s why some people come to me to buy their juice. Apparently my stuff is better and cheaper than most nicotine-free juice. At least I have a good backup in case my current job doesn’t work out.

“Got it,” Outlaw suddenly proclaims, batting away the lingering clouds and finally handing my phone back to me.

“What did they say?”

“They want us to go to the abandoned locker room. You know, the one across the bridge?”

I shudder. I know what he’s talking about. In spite of my better judgement, I ask, “What time?”

“After sunset. I’ll meet you in front of the school around midnight. You up for it?”

“I don’t think I have a choice,” I say, sighing in defeat. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Alright. See you then.” Outlaw and I leave the bathroom and go back to our classes.

Looks like this won’t be a standard day after all.


	3. Not A Standard Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After managing to avoid punishment from the teacher, Jay learns another reason not to trifle with his English class.

Even if today won’t be standard, at least it’s a change of pace.

Shortly after splitting up with Outlaw, I reach my English class. I expect the same level of rowdiness that was happening before, but I can see everyone sitting at their desks through the window. It’s dead quiet too, nobody is talking at all. As soon as I open the door, all eyes turn to face me. I freeze for a moment, scanning the room before returning to my desk as if nothing happened.

Suddenly Mr. Syrkette clears his throat and stands up. “Now that we’re all here, let’s go over today’s topic...” I quickly tune him out, not because I want to, but due to my invasive thoughts. Not just intrusive, but straight-up  **invasive** , like a weed.  _ Am I actually being possessed? Is someone stalking me? Did I do something to deserve this? Is this karma? Maybe I deserve this...  _ They quickly spiral into textbook self-hating statements.  _ Yeah. That’s right. I do deserve this. What efforts have I made to be a good person? None. I deserve whatever’s coming to me.  _ They don’t make sense, but then again, self-hate isn’t supposed to make sense. It’s irrational and counterproductive. Logically, I know that, but it won’t stop me. Fuck the human brain, and whatever situation that normalized self-hate. 

That’s what devastated the human race. Emotions. Emotions are the biggest culprit of the atrocities that happened throughout history. Privileged people had negative emotions towards those who wanted fair treatment, or those who dared to be different from them. They thought it would be a good idea to act on those emotions and kill and oppress those people. Now humanity is here, trapped in a late-stage capitalist hellscape that’s doomed both the environment and the people living in it. All because of emotions. Sometimes I wish I was a robot without any feelings. Despite what shouldn’t be a common opinion, I don’t think humanity is better off dead, or that people don’t deserve to live. Not only is that disgusting and misanthropic, it ignores a great chunk of history where people lived in harmony with the environment, not in spite of it. I want that to return, but at this point it’s very unlikely to happen due to those in charge...well, wanting to stay in charge, and doing everything they can—at whatever cost to everyone else—to make that so. My point is, we have to dismantle capitalism. And fast. We don’t have much time left before the Earth becomes irreversibly damaged due to climate change. How we’re going to do it, I don’t know. What happens after, I don’t care.

Wow. Worrying over something ridiculous, turned into self-hate, turned into revolutionary thoughts. Looks like that’s how most anarchists are nowadays.

I snap back to reality just in time to hear some important information from Mr. Syrkette. “...remember, you have an assignment due next week regarding argumentative essays. You may use the rest of this class period to work on it. I will not be accepting late work!” The class then goes back to normal. Well, normal for other classes, and not the excessively disruptive “normal” of this class. Deciding to address what happened earlier, I go up to Mr. Syrkette’s desk. “Yes?” he asks, looking up at me, presumably not knowing my name.

“First off, my name is Jaymison,” I begin. “Second...I’m sorry about earlier. I don’t know what came over me-”

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize to me!” Syrkette interrupts me before I can come up with another excuse. “In fact, I think you just saved this class. If those obnoxious students stay quiet because of you, you’ll have done me a great favour. 

“You see, I’ve...never been one for confrontation,” he clarifies. “especially with those younger than me. I’m afraid of action being taken against me, and the situation getting blown out of proportion.”

Despite me being taken aback by my lack of punishment for my actions, I respond fairly easily. “So like every other guy.”

“I... Well, I mean... Yeah.” He scratches the back of his head. “Ever since my father-”

I sigh loudly, cutting him off. “I don’t want to hear your life story. I appreciate you letting me off the hook, but that doesn’t mean I want to be your teacher’s pet.” I briefly glance across the room, then lean in and start whispering, “Alright, look, I’ll cut you a deal. It’ll benefit both of us. You get better at reprimanding others, and I’ll keep the problematic students in check. Deal?”

Syrkette looks down at his shoes for a moment, contemplating my offer. Then, defeatedly, shakes my hand and simply says, “Deal.” As if on cue, the first warning bell rings again. I return to my desk to gather my stuff, then start to leave without saying another word to Syrkette.

“Wait! Jaymison!” he suddenly calls out to me just as I reach the door. I turn around and tilt my head slightly. “Thank you, again. I promise I’ll become a better teacher. Oh, and if you see my little brother around, tell him I said hello!”

“Will do,” I say, smirking, then I actually leave the class and head towards the common grounds, which is also where the cafeteria is located. Thank the stars I have the earliest lunch. Because of my insomnia, I often sleep in and therefore don’t have time to eat breakfast  _ and  _ make my lunch. I have to pick between the two. I normally go with the latter, since if I get hungry before lunch, I can just eat some of it. I also stop by the vending machines from time to time to grab something extra, if I feel like it. Today, that just so happens to be the case.

I pass by Outlaw sitting at an otherwise empty table and, after taking my wallet out, throw my bag onto a chair, not saying anything to him. He knows what’s up and ignores me. As I approach the cafeteria with long lines of students at each station, I instead take a left turn, then right towards the hallway that leads to both the sports and the art department. Just before the doors to the former, there stand three vending machines; one for drinks, the second for ice cream, and the last for other snacks like Fruit by the Foot and Doritos. I open my wallet and pull out a dollar bill, since the last vending machine doesn’t take cards. After smoothing out the corners and feeding it into the slot, I press the buttons that coordinate to spicy Doritos. But to me, they’re not spicy at all, which leads me to believe that either the packaging is lying or that my taste buds are messed up. Either way, I still like them because they’re sweet.

I shove my wallet into the pocket of my hoodie and take the chips out of the port. As I start to leave, someone taps my shoulder. I turn around to see who it is, and... Whoa. He’s tall. Even taller than me. Aside from that, his hair is the same shade of black as mine, but it’s not nearly as long, as it barely reaches his shoulders. Fair skin, green vampire eyes, reeks of cigarette smoke...

_ Wait. Vampire? Oh crap. I’m in trouble. _

“Hey there,” he begins. Stereotypical southern accent. I’m dealing with a redneck vampire. “Jay, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” I answer, trying and failing to keep my cool. “What do you want from me?”

“Listen.” He snaps his fingers, and the huge, muscular girl next to him grabs me by my collar. “I don’t want any trouble, ‘kay? Stay outta my way in Syrkette’s class, or else...”

“O-Or else what?” I snap back. “What are you gonna do? Bite me?”

“Actually... That’s a good idea.” He snaps his fingers again, and the girl traps me in a bear hug. I thrash around and struggle to get out, but her grip is way too strong. She doesn’t budge a centimetre either.  _ Crap. Doesn’t seem like I can’t fight my way out.  _ The vampire circles around like a crow, flashing his fangs at me. Even though he’s not doing anything else, I flinch and gasp in fear. I’m having flashbacks to a similar incident that happened around this time last year, which ended up with me in the hospital. 

“By the way... the name’s Dan.” That introduction brings me back to the real world. I hear a loud snarl, then feel a piercing pain in my neck. I howl in pain and finally wriggle free, sprinting away from the vending machines and towards the table Outlaw is sitting at. I practically collapse onto a chair, coughing up a fit and frantically searching my bag for my inhaler. Outlaw fishes it out and puts it in my hand, then as soon as I realize I have it, I quickly put it in my mouth and press the button. Air flows through my lungs, relieving me from the asthma attack I just had.

“You okay, man?” is the first thing Outlaw asks.

“No,” I groan out, moving my hair out of the way to show him the bite mark Dan left. Outlaw inspects it closely, then looks straight into my eyes. “Show me your teeth,” he commands suddenly.

“Uh, okay then…” I open my mouth and bare my teeth.

“Oh, shit.” Outlaw scarfs down the rest of his lunch and tugs at my arm. “We gotta get you to the nurse. Now.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and allow him to drag me over to the nurse’s office. As soon as we get to the set of double doors, the school’s resource officer stops us.

“Hold it. Where do you two think you’re going?”

“The nurse,” Outlaw hastily answers. “My friend here just got bitten by a vampire.”

“Hahaha, sure, kid.” The officer immediately dismisses him, scoffing and shrugging his shoulders. I clear my throat to get his attention, then show him the bright red mark on my neck. His smug smile disappears and he fumbles over his words. Outlaw ignores him and walks past him, still dragging me by my arm.

“Dude, what gives?” I dig my heels into the ground, stopping him. “Why are you taking me to the nurse? I’m already a vampire, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“That’s why I asked you to show me your teeth,” Outlaw clarifies, yanking my arm and increasing his pace to a power walk. “You’re not a vampire, amigo. You might get sick if we don’t treat it.”

“I...what? What do you mean?”

“How else do you want me to say it, man?” Outlaw glares at me, frustrated at my confusion. “You’re not a vampire, and more importantly, you’re  **not** a human like you’ve always insisted. You’re not dead either, so that rules out you being a werewolf or minotaur.”

“But I’m not-” Just as I say I’m not being affected, I start coughing and shaking all over. Outlaw looks over his shoulder and at me, unimpressed. “N-Never mind,” I say, abandoning my false observation.

“We’re here.” Outlaw finally lets go of my arm and pushes open the heavy door. We’re silently greeted by a short, sunglasses-wearing woman in forest green scrubs, with a stethoscope draped over her shoulders. In addition to being Outlaw’s mom, she’s the only nurse in the entire school, after the other nurse was fired for assaulting a lesbian freshman last year. Outlaw’s mom’s identity, just like her son’s, is a closely-guarded secret kept by the faculty. She’s not required to wear a nametag or anything of the sort, just a photo ID. She looks up from her papers and tilts her head to the right. Outlaw jabs my side, prompting me to show her the problem. She gets uncomfortably close to me, staring at the mark, then forcing my mouth open, presumably to look at my teeth. Once she notices that they’re normal, she dashes to the supply closet without saying anything.

“You’d better find a place to sit, dude,” Outlaw insists. “You’re gonna feel real dizzy in a sec.” I listen to his advice and take a seat on one of the cots closest to the supply closet, dropping my bag on the floor. Shortly after, I’m hit with a wave of dizziness, forcing me to lie down. I take off my hoodie as well, since for some reason the room got very hot. Outlaw pulls up a rolling chair and sits next to me, scanning my body. Suddenly he asks, “How’s that scar holding up?” I almost forgot about it. I pull up my shirt and gaze at my chest. There’s still a long, pink scar running across diagonally. It’s healed up nicely since that incident.

“Phew.” Outlaw wipes his forehead in relief. “Glad you’re doing all right.”

“Well, yeah, it’s been a year.”

“I know, but still. You can never be too careful with these things.” Outlaw briefly looks around the room, then back at me. “Say... didn’t it happen around the same time as your birthday?”

I think back to when it happened. It was a week after my 15th birthday. “Now that you mention it, yeah. Something’s always happened after my birthday. There was the infestation at my first school, then Christine attacking me last year, and now this?” I pull my shirt back down and slowly sit up. “This can’t be a coincidence. It’s too weird.”

“I’ll say. Remember that time when some random girl wouldn’t stop following and flirting with you?”

“Yeah, I remember her,” I snicker. “What was her name again? Jenny?”

“Jane,” Outlaw corrects me.

“Whatever, dude,” I dismiss him, waving my hand and coughing again. “All I care to remember is that she was weird and annoying. Seriously, what was her deal? Do you know anything about her?”

“Nothing relevant, but I know why she did all that. Her boyfriend broke up with her and she wanted to forget about it.”

“T-Then why c-come to m-me?” My teeth start chattering, despite it still being hot in the room. I force my jaw shut with my hand. “Aren’t there more eligible guys?”

Outlaw shrugs. “Guess she wanted a change of scenery.”

“Change of scenery?” I tilt my head in confusion. “That’s kind of insulting. Even if I was straight, I wouldn’t want to date a girl like her. Dating someone based solely on how ‘different’ they are from others, immediately after you broke up with someone? Sounds shallow.”

“Yeah, she kind of is. She’s the type of girl that’ll date just for clout, but you’ll quickly find out her true intentions and ditch her. Vicious cycle, man.”

I cough before continuing to spew out my opinions on Jane. “I kind of feel bad for her. She doesn’t have to do all that. Who the hell convinced her that she does?”

Outlaw shrugs. He looks like he’s about to give an answer, but says nothing as his mom comes out of the supply closet with a spray bottle, alcohol wipes, and a gauze patch. Putting my hoodie back on, I move my hair out of the way so she can treat me. She cleans my wound with the alcohol wipes, which stings a little bit, then spritzes it with whatever’s in the spray bottle and puts on the gauze patch. The room gets cold and I yell out as my neck starts to sear with pain, alongside a funny smell coming from under the patch. I sniff at it to make sure I’m not mistaken.  _ Is that...garlic? Was I just sprayed with a garlic-scented aerosol? _

“That’s how you treat a vampire bite,” Outlaw’s mom informs me. “Now, get some rest. It’s not safe to wander around while injured.”

“I’ll see you tonight, amigo. Take care.” Outlaw and I high-five and he quietly leaves. As soon as he’s gone, I collapse onto the cot and shut my eyes, pulling my hood over my head to help block out the light.

What have I gotten myself into?


	4. Who Am I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay finally learns his true potential.

Why is this happening to me?

I don’t understand. This is all too strange for me to put my finger on. Intrusive thoughts start to return, but I wave them away before I can dwell on them. I’m more worried about what’s actually going on.  _ How long will this last? Is this a warning for something worse that’s going to come? What can I do about it?  _ Questions like those ruminate in my mind.

A violent vibration coming from something heavy jolts me awake. I force my eyes open to see what it is; it’s my messenger bag. My phone must be going off. I slowly sit up and search through it, pulling out my phone and looking at the screen. My dad is calling me. I answer it and simply say “Yes?” in German.

“Where are you, Jay?” His gruff voice is all too familiar, but he sounds concerned. We continue to speak to each other in German.

“I’m at school. Why?”

“At 4:30 PM?”

“What are you-” Before I finish my sentence, I pull my phone away from my ear and look at the time. It is 4:30. I somehow slept through the rest of the school day. “Oh, sh…” I start, but I clear my throat as a disregard of my almost cursing within earshot of my dad. “Sorry. I’ll explain everything when I get home.”

“Okay, good. At least you’re safe. See you soon. Love you, kid.”

“Love you too, dad.” I hang up and shove my phone back into my bag. But before I leave, I need some answers. How come I got sick instead of turning into a vampire?

“Oh, you’re awake, good.” Outlaw’s mom emerges from the supply closet once more, this time with a hand mirror. “You’re confused, right?”

“Y-Yeah,” I stutter. “What’s that mirror for?”

“Take a look at yourself.” She gives me the mirror, and I reluctantly look at my face...

I drop it on the cot as soon as I see my reflection.  _ Is...Is that really me?  _ I pick it up again and take a closer look. I have dark bags under my eyes, I’m breaking out all over, my hair is a mess...

My eyes. That’s what I’m afraid about. If Outlaw is right, and I’m not a human...then what am I? I had actively avoided looking in mirrors for who knows how long. I perpetually felt disgusted at myself, and couldn’t bear to know what my face looked like. But now that veil’s been shredded to pieces, and I’m forced to know what I really am.

“I’m...a bird...?” Now I’m even more confused. I’ve never once felt inclined to fly or sing, nor am I as airheaded and flighty as every other bird I’ve met. “I...have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Try transforming,” Outlaw’s mom suggests. “Focus on what having wings will feel like. You might want to take off your shirt before you do.”

I sigh and respond with a simple “okay” before pulling off my shirt and hoodie and straining my back, stretching and contorting like I’m part of the damn circus. Then relief washes over me as a shadow stretches across the floor, and I feel a new sensation sprout in my back. I look over my shoulder to see...blue jay wings. “Oh...my god...” I’m nearly speechless. I can’t stop myself from running my fingers through my newfound feathers. “All this time...and I never knew. Now, um, how do I get rid of them?”

“First, fold them, then focus on what it was like when they weren’t there.”

“Okay.” I do as she tells me, then strain my back again. Just like that, they vanish without a trace. It’s as if they were never there at all. I quickly put my shirt and hoodie back on, slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder and moving towards the door. “Thank you, miss.”

“Just doing my job,” Outlaw’s mom deflects my gratitude, but I know she appreciates it. I shrug, then leave the nurse’s office and head straight down this hallway. Fortunately for me, it leads directly to the student parking area. There aren’t any students around, which makes me feel like I’m not supposed to be here. Technically I’m correct, but it isn’t of any concern right now. My top priority is getting home and explaining to my dad what happened. I can’t tell him I was bitten. That’ll make him suspicious.  _ Whatever. I’ll come up with something on my way home. _

I reach my blue Prius fairly quickly, pulling my keys out of my bag, then unlocking it and swooping onto the driver’s seat. As I put my keys in and turn on the ignition, I think of what’s happened so far. This is the most unbelievable discovery of my entire life. I’m a bird. A freaking  _ bird _ . I need to practice transforming, and eventually flying, since I’m sixteen years late to the party. I don’t know how I will, but I’ll figure something out eventually.

I’m so glad my school is close to my house. It’s a twenty minute walk, but driving there takes less than five minutes, depending on traffic. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much, especially given the time. I pull into the driveway and turn off my car, pulling out my pen vape and checking how much juice is in it. It’s empty. Disappointed, I shove it back into its place, take the rest of my bag, and leave the car, locking it as soon as I close the door. As I walk up towards the front door of my house, I try to think of excuses for why I’m injured. Ones that make sense.  _ Falling on a knife doesn’t make sense, but the falling part does. What did I fall on? The edge of a table? Yeah, let’s go with that. I slipped and hit the edge of a table. _

I finally step inside, shuddering at the not-so-sudden rise in temperature. The house is always unreasonably hot, even during winter. It’s not stale, the air conditioning and ventilation are fully functional. My mom just likes to keep it warm, I guess. I never bothered to ask. Standing directly in front of me is my dad, tapping his foot impatiently with a single eyebrow raised. “Well?” He’s expecting my reasoning.

Without hesitating, I tell him, “I slipped and hit my neck on the edge of a table. I went to the nurse and passed out after she treated me.” I move my hair out of the way to show the gauze patch. Of course, that story is only half-true. My dad sighs and puts his hand on my shoulder, giving me an affectionate look. “Go get some rest, kid. There’s Pizza Hut in the oven if you’re hungry.”

“...Thanks, dad.” Wow. This is the first time they’ve ever ordered something instead of everyone fending for themselves. He’s being way more kind than he usually is, too. What’s going on?

“Alright, I’ll let you loose. Call me if you need anything.” He pats my shoulder and turns away, heading into the living room to presumably continue watching some weird-ass drama movie. I follow the stairs in front of me that lead down into a chaotic mess of a living room. To the right are three doors, one leading to my bathroom, the other to my bedroom, and the last leading to the laundry room. To the left is the actual living room, with a glass sliding door leading outside, then a couch, chair, and loveseat combination surrounding a coffee table. There’s a TV against the wall opposite to the glass sliding door. Clothes, papers, and empty cans are strewn about everywhere. I know I should clean it up, but not right now. Right now I just want to relax.

I lock the door behind me, then hop over the back of the loveseat and land on it, dropping my bag next to the coffee table and taking off my hoodie. The pungent garlic odour still lingers around the collar area. Scrunching my face in disgust, I ball it up and throw it in the direction of the laundry room. I don’t care where it lands. I lift the top of the coffee table, which is where I keep all of my “important” things.  _ Good, everything’s still there.  _ I already have plenty of leftover juice from my last batch, so there’s no need to get into that yet.

Closing my eyes, I randomly pick a bottle and close the coffee table chest. Once I open them, I read the label. Tiger’s blood. This one is the most popular among my clients, but I’ve never actually tried it myself. I was going to eventually, but never got around to doing it.  _ Now’s the time, I guess.  _ I unscrew the mouthpiece of my vape pen, revealing the juice-holding cartridge. As I’m about to pop the lid off of the juice bottle, the doorbell rings.  _ Who the hell could it be? _ “I’ll get it,” I yell out, frantically shoving everything back in the coffee table, then picking up the empty cans and dropping them off in a nearby trash bin. I also grab every article of clothing and chuck them into the laundry room. The living room still isn’t clean by any means, but at least it’s somewhat presentable. I race upstairs to greet the visitor, but as soon as I open the door, there’s a surprisingly familiar face.

I bring my voice to a whisper. “Jeremy, what are you doing here? How did you get my address?”

“Outlaw told me that you have some... _ special _ juices for sale.” He winks knowingly.

I’m taken aback. I never would have guessed that Jeremy was in that scene. “Come downstairs. It’s not safe to talk about this in the presence of my parents,” I urge him.

“Okay.” Jeremy eagerly follows me downstairs, silencing his footsteps with ease. As soon as we both reach the living room, I lock the door behind me.

“Alright, now that we’re alone, I can show you what I have.” I lift the top of the coffee table, revealing my current supply of juice. “It’s ten bucks a pop, so take your pick. I’ll have different options next week.”

“Wow, he wasn’t lying when he said you have good prices!” Jeremy fawns excitedly, handing me a crumpled-up $10 bill and taking a bottle hastily labelled “Fruit Punch.” As he stuffs it into his small purse, I quickly pop the cap off of the tiger’s blood bottle, then pour a good amount into the cartridge of my vape pen. Once it’s full, I replace the bottle’s cap and screw on the mouthpiece. After putting away the bottle and closing the coffee table, I take a nice, long drag, then slowly blow out some impressively thick clouds. The juice itself tastes great. I’ll definitely continue using it. Before I can take another hit, Jeremy starts getting uncomfortably close to me.

“Um...what are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing…” Jeremy dodges my question. “I was just admiring you.”  _ Admiring me? What does he mean by that?  _ I can’t really get an answer out of him right now, though. He’s rubbing against my arm like a cat and ignoring my attempts at pushing him away. I give up halfway through my fifth attempt and take another, shorter drag, then spitting out little balls of smoke. Jeremy shifts away from me, a withdrawn disposition taking over. Now I can finally ask him what his deal is.

“Jeremy?”

“Hmm? What’s up?” He turns towards me, slightly tilting his head to the side.

“Do you…uh…” I swallow nervously. I’m worried about what his response to my question will be.  _ What if he’s just messing with me and doesn’t like me at all? “No, of course not, why would you even think that?” That’ll be his answer. God, I’m stupid for even thinking he does… _

“Do I what?” I realize Jeremy’s waiting for me to finish my question. I let out a deep, anxious sigh, like the ones just before you do something nerve-wracking. “Do you like me?”  _ Oh god. I’ve said it. He’s gonna reject- _

“What kind of question is that?” Jeremy playfully asks, chuckling. “Of course I like you! I thought it was obvious!”

“I-I…” I stutter, hesitating. I genuinely couldn’t tell whether him talking to me all the time and asking me for favours...if all of that was actual affection, or if he was just messing with me. I shake my head and sit up straight “No. I never would’ve guessed.”

Jeremy chuckles again. “Well...maybe  _ this _ will.” He inches closer to me and pecks my cheek, then slinks back to his original spot on the loveseat. My face starts burning up and I feel somewhat lightheaded.  _ Crap. He made the first move, but what do I do next? I don’t want to come off as aggressive or too forward. _ I shake my head again, abandoning those thoughts and taking hold of Jeremy’s hand. That’s all the strength I can muster at the moment. I’m so nervous. Each time he glances over at me, I look away, pretending I’m not staring at him. This is the closest we’ve ever gotten to each other, and I want this to last for as long as possible.

“So…” Jeremy trails, breaking the silence.

“So...what?”

“Are you going out with anyone right now?”

I scratch my head in confusion. “No, why?”

“Would you like to go out with me?” Jeremy shifts to sit on his knees, giving me a pleading look.

“Yes! I-I mean…” I blurt out, then try to curb my enthusiasm. “Aren’t you seeing someone?”

Jeremy shakes his head. “Haven’t been in a relationship for years.”

“Oh.” The realization dawns on me. He’s never talked about having a significant other. “T-Then...yeah. I’d love to go out with you.”

“Great!” Jeremy bounces up and down excitedly, a wide grin stretching across his face.

“But...I have a request,” I interrupt his moment of bliss. He doesn’t say anything, instead looking at me with his head tilted. “Can we...um...take it slow? I’ve...never actually dated anyone before.”

“Of course,” Jeremy reassures me. “Boundaries are important, and if you want to take it slow, that’s perfectly valid. Let me know if any of that changes, too.”

“Thanks, Jeremy.” I hold his hand again, letting him sit closer to me. He doesn’t say anything else, but he doesn’t have to. I’m fine with just holding his hand in silence. Still lightheaded, I take a nice, long drag, then start to blow out a thick plume of smoke. I cough as soon as I notice that it’s purple.

“What’s wrong, Jay?” Jeremy asks, concerned. Before I can answer, I notice a figure sitting on the coffee table, obscured by the smoke. I wave it away to see what they look like.

I have no idea who it is.


	5. Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn who the mysterious caller is.

Who is this person, and how did they get here?

What I notice first is their eyes. They’ve got the werewolf look, but their pupils are clouded, almost white.  _ Are they a ghost? _ I look over to Jeremy, who’s completely frozen in place. Doesn’t look like he’ll be able to help me. I turn my focus back on the supposed ghost. The second most obvious trait is their skin, which is pale as hell. They also have blonde hair with a good section of their hair dyed an eggplant purple and reaching past their shoulders, and they’re wearing a stereotypical Japanese sailor schoolgirl’s uniform. They’re pretty stocky, too, like some of those busty girls you’d see in a fanservice-heavy anime.

I clear my throat and ask, trying my hardest to keep my cool, “Who are you? How did you get here so quickly?”

They say something I don’t understand. It’s...the same voice that I heard in the voicemail. Quickly realizing I don’t speak their language, they clear their throat and start making hand gestures. I recognize it this time, it’s sign language.  _ Sorry. Do you sign? _

“Yes, I do.” Thank god the schools I’ve been to all offered ASL, and thank god I signed up for all of it. “Before you answer my other questions, what are your pronouns?”

_ She/her. _

“Okay, cool. I didn’t want to assume.”

_ You’re very kind. I don’t want to tell you my name yet, but I’ll put two and two together. Do you remember the freshman that was attacked by a nurse at Germaine? _

“Yeah.” I scratch my head, raising a single eyebrow. “Why?”

_ That was me. _

“Whoa.” Shocked, I stand up, shaking my head in disbelief. “Y-You mean you...died?”

She nods.  _ Shortly after the article was published. _

“How did that happen? Do you remember anything at all?”

She sighs, putting her hand on her temple, then grunting in pain a few seconds after.  _ I don’t know. Every time I try to recall what happened, I get a splitting headache. All I can remember is where I died. _

“And that’s why you want me and Outlaw to go to the abandoned locker room? To retrieve your body?”

_ No, nothing like that. I just want you to get one thing that I left behind. It means a lot to me. _

“Okay, but why do you want us to do it? Can’t you get it yourself?”

She shakes her head.  _ I can’t be near my body without possessing someone else. Please don’t ask me why, because I’m not sure either. _

“Um, okay then…” I sit back down, trying to remember what I wanted to ask her.  _ Oh, right, the phone thing. _ “So...how did you manage to call my phone?”

_ I memorized your number and used my mom’s cell phone. Mine doesn’t have service anymore. _

“I see. Were you possessing me too? Today in my English class?”

She nods.  _ I couldn’t bear to see you get bullied. _

“And you didn’t stop to think if I’d get in trouble?”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes.  _ You’re a boy. Boys rarely get in trouble for being aggressive. Besides, Aaron hates confronting others. _

I huff, crossing my arms. “Point taken.”  _ Who’s Aaron? I don’t think there are any students in there named Aaron. _ Then I realize who she’s talking about. “Wait, you know Mr. Syrkette?”

_ He’s my ex-boyfriend Victor’s older brother. We dated before I realized I’m a lesbian.  _ She bites her thumb when she’s done signing.

“Damn. Must’ve been tough for him.”

_ Whatever. I’m sure he’s over it by now. _

“U-Um...Jay?” Jeremy stutters, finally gaining the courage to speak. I turn towards him and wait for him to finish his sentence. “What are you two talking about?”

“You mean you don’t know ASL?”

“No! I never thought I’d have a use for it!”

I sigh, slightly frustrated but understanding where Jeremy is coming from. It’s wrong of me to assume ASL is a basic skill, even if I know that it should be. “Well, I’ll teach you later. Here’s the gist of what we were saying…” I quickly recap the events of today, and my conversation with the ghost girl. Jeremy finally seems to understand what’s going on. He still looks scared of her, but unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about that. I take my phone out of my bag and text Outlaw about the time he wants me to be at the school.

_ Me: Do you really want me to be there at midnight? It’ll be hours until then, and I kind of have two guests at my house. _

_ Outlaw: we can meet at eight. i said midnight cause it’s the safest time i could think of. also, what do you mean two guests? _

_ Me: Jeremy came over and wanted to buy some juice, and our little Russian friend finally showed up. She’s a ghost. _

_ Outlaw: ah, ok. makes sense. then yeah, keep them entertained until eight. see you then. _

_ Me: Seeya. _

I put my phone away and collapse on the loveseat. Today’s been very exhausting, and I can’t seem to catch a break. Every time I think all is calm, something happens, catching me off-guard and escalating the situation, forcing me to run on my heels trying to keep up with it. I don’t know how much more of it I can take, especially with the amount of spoons I have at the moment. I still find it weird how spoons are a metaphor for energy, but it’s a convenient metaphor. Neurotypicals will never understand what it’s like to have a chronic condition that eats away at your productivity. Even the most basic of things, like getting out of bed and showering, drain a lot of spoons from me. It sucks.

“S-So...um…” Seems like Jeremy is trying to start a conversation with the ghost, probably to kill the awkward silence. “H-How does it...um...feel...being d-dead and everything?”

She shrugs, rolling her eyes, then signs something at me. I decide to translate for her. “She says, ‘It’s whatever. I don’t have to worry about anything, but I can’t exactly interact with other people.’”

“R-Right. I see. C-Can you tell us more about Victor?”

“‘Sure. We apparently met when I was blacked out at a party. I only know this because we were outside my house when I sobered up. We exchanged numbers and started seeing each other, then we…’” I stop talking when I process what she’s signing next. “...I’m not translating that. Sorry.”

_ Whatever. _ The ghost shrugs dismissively.

“Oh!” I perk up, remembering something important. Her name. “Since you don’t want to tell me your name yet, and I’d really rather not to keep calling you ‘the ghost’ in my head, is it okay if I call you Yukako? Your outfit kind of reminds me of hers.”

_ Whatever works for you is fine by me. Can I continue talking about me and Victor? _

“Oh, yeah, right. Go ahead.” I clear my throat and continue translating for Yukako. “‘Anyways, we went out a couple of times, but I wasn’t really feeling it at all. Fifth date in, I realize I’m a lesbian, we break up, all is well and good. We drifted apart, which wasn’t unexpected, especially given the circumstances.’”

“Does he know that you...um...died?” Jeremy nervously inquires.

“‘Probably not. I’m fairly sure nobody found my body, otherwise I’d be able to go near the abandoned locker room.’”

“Hmm…” Jeremy rests his chin on his fist, presumably trying to figure something out. “So, you’re a werewolf, right?”

Yukako nods.

“May I see your neck?”

Yukako raises a single eyebrow in confusion, but moves her hair out of the way, revealing two large dots on her neck.

“Oh, shit,” I exclaim. “You were bitten by a vampire. So that’s how you died. You don’t cast reflections, so there’s no way you could’ve found that out by yourself.”

_ Okay. That makes much more sense than what I had in mind. Thanks for letting me know. _

“No problem.”

“Um, I hate to interrupt, but…” Jeremy calls for my attention. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”

“No!” Yukako and I both shout at the same time; I show more anger than fear. “Ghosts still aren’t recognized as being real. We can’t just tip off the cops and say that a ghost told us where her corpse is. They’ll think we had something to do with her death!”

Yukako starts signing, so I jump back into translating for her. “‘Plus, I don’t trust cops to handle the investigation properly. They’ll just blame some kid who had nothing to do with it and call it a day.’”

“I’m sorry, but how do you know that?”

“‘My dad tried to be a cop, but he got fired after he tried to tell them that they were arresting the wrong person.’”

“O-Oh,” Jeremy mutters, admitting defeat. “C-Can we still consider it as a last resort?”

“Ugh, fine.  _ Last resort _ ,” I spit out the last two words, to emphasize that we’ll only do it if nothing else works. I then check my phone for the time. It’s 5:15 PM. I still have a few hours before I have to meet up with Outlaw. I try to think of ways to pass the time. Netflix comes to mind pretty easily.  _ Perfect. _

“Hey, do you two want to watch a movie?”

“Sure!” Jeremy agrees. Yukako just nods. “What do you have?”

“Let’s see…” I turn on the TV and select Netflix, then scroll through the available movies, muttering the titles to myself. I stop when I come across a fairly nostalgic and fitting Halloween movie. “Oh! How about Monster House?”

“Yes! I love that movie!” Jeremy bounces up and down in excitement.

_ Why not? It’s October. _

“Monster House it is. I’ll go make some popcorn, you two stay here.”

“Okay!” Jeremy answers, smiling cutely. I chuckle, then quietly head upstairs and into the kitchen. Just before I go to the pantry, I remember that my dad ordered pizza.  _ Hell yeah. That’s even better than popcorn, but I’ll make some just in case. _ I continue to the pantry, grabbing some cheap microwaveable popcorn as well as popcorn seasoning. I rip it out of the plastic film and toss it into the microwave, setting the timer to a minute and a half. While I wait for it to finish, I check the oven to see what kind of pizza there is. There are two boxes. Naturally, I open the one on top first. It’s a plain cheese pizza. I ignore it, pulling out the one on the bottom and setting it on top, then opening it. It looks like a meat lover’s pizza.  _ Eh, it’ll do. _ I take the box downstairs, circle around the loveseat and drop it on the coffee table. “Popcorn will be ready soon. Here’s some pizza.”

Jeremy flicks open the box, and as soon as he sees what kind of pizza it is, he starts devouring it slice by slice.  _ Damn, he must be hungry.  _ Shrugging internally, I head back upstairs to check on the popcorn. The microwave is finished, and while there’s still some popping here and there, the popcorn is most likely done. I take it out of the microwave, then carefully open it and dump a bunch of seasoning in it. I pinch the bag closed and shake it violently. Once I believe it’s mixed enough, I put away the seasoning and head back downstairs, sitting next to Jeremy and setting the bag on his lap. “Here. Don’t eat all of the pizza, jeez.”

“Sorry,” Jeremy apologizes, his mouth half full. Then he swallows the rest of it. “It’s my favourite.”

“I’m not surprised,” I casually remark, grabbing a slice of pizza and taking a small bite. “You’re basically a carnivore.”

Yukako coughs, presumably to get my attention, then she signs at me.  _ Can you just start the movie? _

“Oh, right. Sorry.” I hit the play button and lean back to enjoy the show. Finally, I can relax. For now, at least.


	6. One Small Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yukako" sends Jay on a mission to retrieve something important to her.
> 
> CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: Graphic depiction of a corpse, injury, emetophobia.

It’s time.

I shut off the TV and stand up, shaking my head in an attempt to de-invest myself from the movie. Then I nudge Jeremy and gesture at Yukako, letting them know that I have to go.

“Oh, you’re leaving?” Jeremy wonders.

“Yeah. I can’t be late.”

“Can I come with you?” Jeremy pleads, grabbing my hand and giving me puppy eyes. I yank my arm away from him. “No, I can’t let you. It’s too dangerous.”

Yukako moves in front of me and starts signing.  _ Really? Dangerous? You’re just running an errand. _

“Don’t say it like that!” I shout, frustrated at her simplification. “You’re having me loot your corpse in a restricted area. I could-- _ we  _ could get in serious trouble if we’re caught. Outlaw and I can bail each other out, but...” I sigh sadly, slumping over and turning towards Jeremy. “I don’t know if either of us can do the same for someone else. I’m sorry, but the risk is too great. Please stay here, Jeremy.”

Jeremy lets out a disappointed sigh, moving into a more comfortable position and taking out his phone. “I’ll be back soon, I promise,” I reassure him, then gently kiss him on the forehead. I rush towards the glass door and open it, closing it behind me once I’m outside. I can feel my face burning up again, but I try to ignore it. The cameras around the perimeter are probably still operational, so it’d be a bad move to take my car there. Instead, I have another, safer plan in mind.

I take off my shirt and hoodie and sit down, then stretch out my back. Once again, a wave of relief hits me as wings sprout from my back.  _ Okay, they’re here. Now I just need to get myself off of the ground. _ Nervously, I shut my eyes and start violently flapping my wings, straining my back and my feet. After a moment I don’t feel the ground anymore.  _ Don’t freak out. Just don’t freak out,  _ I tell myself before opening my eyes. I’m hovering above the ground. As dumb as it is, instead of externally panicking, I just smirk and say “cool” under my breath. “Oh!” I exclaim, then stop flying and head back inside, taking my shirt and hoodie with me.

“What’s going on, Jay? I thought you were leaving?” Jeremy shouts, but I ignore him and instead enter my room, dropping the clothes on the floor and picking a plain black hoodie from my closet. I also grab a red sharpie off of my desk, as well as a pair of black gloves, and return to the living room. “Sorry about that,” I apologize, laying my hoodie along my back and putting on the gloves. “Can you mark where my wings are?”

“Oh, sure.” Jeremy takes the sharpie from my hand and draws two lines, presumably where they should be. “Do you have a knife?” I casually ask, shrugging off the hoodie.

“Um, yeah. Here.” Jeremy digs through his bag and pulls out a small folding knife, then hands it to me.

“Thanks.” Taking care to open up the hoodie as well as the knife, I stab through the two lines, dragging the knife down until I’m satisfied with the size of the holes. I give Jeremy’s knife back to him and slip on the hoodie, forcing my wings through the holes. I ruffle my feathers and stretch out my wings to make sure they’re comfortable, which they are, then I head back outside. Instead of just waiting to be lifted off of my feet, I jump into the air and start flapping my wings. This works much better than my previous tactic, but I stumble over myself and almost drop to the ground. Shaking my head, I reorient myself and slowly ascend into the air, trying my best to keep my balance.

I stay close to the ground through my trip to Germaine. I’m still learning how to fly, after all. After arriving on campus, I pull my wings under my hoodie and continue on foot to the abandoned area. Before I get there, I have to cross a rickety and poorly-maintained bridge. This would be much harder if I couldn’t fly. Now I’m thankful that Dan bit me, as messed up as it sounds.

I push my wings through the holes and hover over the bridge, still trying my hardest to keep my balance. Once I’ve successfully crossed the bridge, I withdraw them and briskly walk over to the tall, abandoned building.

I see Outlaw leaning against a lamp post with a backpack next to him, focused on his phone. I shout to get his attention and run towards him.

“You’re here earlier than I expected,” he speaks to me in German, presumably so if the security cameras have audio, whoever’s watching wouldn’t be able to understand what we’re saying.

“I could say the same about you. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“Right behind you, dude.”

My first instinct is to try and open the front door. It’s locked, as I expected. The door is made out of metal, so kicking it down isn’t an option.

“Hey, can you scout around and see if there's a window or something?” I ask. Outlaw nods, then takes his backpack and dashes over to the other side of the building without saying anything. I stay behind and search for a decently-sized rock I could throw at any potential window. I check the little gravel pit that surrounds the building. None of them are big enough. I check the curb. Nothing. I search through the little patch of grass off to the left side. Jack shit. I quickly get frustrated and I’m about to give up, but I hear Outlaw shout, “Found a window!” I rush over to where he is, and lo and behold, a nice, thin window. It doesn’t have the two layers of glass like the other windows at the school, so it should be relatively easy to bust open.

“Stand back,” Outlaw commands, wielding a metal baseball bat. I step back as far as I can. Outlaw swings it at the window, easily shattering it, then smashes the remaining glass to dust. “After you, dude.”

“Damn it, you could’ve just told me you brought a bat. I wasted five minutes looking for a rock,” I scold him while I climb through the window.

“Hey, not my fault you didn’t notice.”

“Ugh, whatever.” I take a few steps before noticing that Outlaw hasn’t moved an inch. “Uh, dude, are you coming or what?”

“Nope. No way,” Outlaw vehemently refuses. “I’m not going anywhere near a dead body. That shit freaks me out. Besides, I think it’d be better if I stayed out here. I could be a sentry, y’know, look out for cops or something.”

“Fine. Just don’t go anywhere.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

I turn around and go deeper into the building, turning on my phone’s flashlight and sweeping it around to get a good look at my surroundings. There’s a long, empty hallway in front of me. To my immediate right is a supply closet, and further up is a door frame without a door. I go up to it and read the sign posted next to it. This is the girls’ locker room.  _ If a girl’s body is anywhere, it would be in there. _ Shuddering in disgust, I slowly step past the door frame and begin my search.

As expected of any locker room, there’s a series of lockers, as well as a bench or two so they can have somewhere to sit. On the left-hand side is a sort of bathroom area with several showerheads. I quickly sweep my flashlight around it. Nothing unusual that I can see, and more importantly, no sign of Yukako. Disappointed, yet also relieved, I continue walking through the locker room. All of the lockers look like they haven’t been used in a very long time; they’re covered in dust and the locks themselves are rusted shut. There’s no way of opening them. The shiny polish has rotted off of one of the benches, and fungal spores are spreading quickly. I hold back a sneeze and keep moving.

For a brief moment, I look up at the ceiling. Many of the panels are missing, exposing the cables, pipes, and ventilation. Most, if not all of the cables have been chewed open, exposing wires and bits of filament.  _ Jesus, this place is in a sorry state. _ Just as I bring my phone's light back to eye level, I trip over something and land flat on my face, a loud crack breaking the silence. Holding my nose in pain, I slowly get up and turn around to see what exactly I tripped over.

It’s Yukako. I almost throw up at the sight of her lifeless corpse. Flies have taken residence in her hair, and most of her clothes have been eaten away by moths. But the rest of her looks...intact. Like she only died an hour ago. I don’t want to stick around to find out why, so I quickly search for what I was sent here for. Soon I see her fist clenching onto something. I try prying it open, but it’s extremely stiff. Doesn’t look like rigor mortis is avoidable. I use all of the strength I can muster, never mind my potentially broken nose. I manage to open her hand barely enough to retrieve the object. Once I have it, I shove it into the pocket of my hoodie and book it out of the locker room as fast as I can, ignoring my asthma attack and the hot, searing pain coming from my nose.

As soon as I see Outlaw, I leap out of the window and tightly embrace him. I hear him talking, but I’m tuning out what he’s saying and practically coughing up my guts. He gently pats my back, then I gag and push him away before a warm, chunky liquid forces its way into my mouth. I spit it out on the concrete in front of me.

“Dude… What the hell happened?” Outlaw asks, concerned. I just stare at him with a look of  _ what do you think?  _ “Oh. Right. Let’s get you home, man. You’ve seen more than enough tonight.” I shake my head before he has the chance to walk away.

“What, you can’t walk?”

“Ding ding ding.”

“Unless you can transform into a blue jay right now, I can’t carry you. You’re way too heavy for me to carry long distances.”

Groaning, I sit down on the curb and curl up into a ball, feeling small and inferior. Then, suddenly, my vision shuts off almost completely. I wiggle around until I see light, then I push myself out. Black fabric surrounds me. I try to ask what happened, but the only thing that comes from my mouth is… chirping?  _ What the hell is going on? _

“Well, I guess that settles it.” I look around to see where Outlaw’s voice is coming from, but something picks me up before I can spot him. I look up and I see him, but he’s huge.  _ Am I…? Did I just…  _ I look down and see my clothes collapsed on the curb.  _ Holy shit. I did it. _

“C’mon. Let’s go home.” Outlaw brings me up to his shoulder, and I instinctively perch on it. He picks up my clothes and shoes, stuffs them in his backpack, then slings it over his other shoulder and starts walking towards my house. I sit down and nestle against Outlaw’s neck, trying to relax and stay calm. A cool autumn breeze ruffles my feathers, which helps me feel less sick. You only get those sorts of breezes at night when you’re in Texas. It’s usually unbearably hot, especially for me, considering I grew up in Pennsylvania.

“You had food before coming here, right?” Outlaw asks, turning his head towards me and awaiting my response, knowing I can’t answer him with my voice. I simply nod. “Ah, okay. Shame you lost it.” He shakes his head in dismay, then I can see him getting an idea. “Hey, I’m pretty sure the Smoothie King nearby is still open, wanna grab a smoothie?”

I nod excitedly. I have Smoothie King infrequently enough that it’s relatively significant when I do get it, the primary reason being it’s out of my current budget. The secondary reason is that I’m not a big “healthy food” person, but that’s my own fault. I really should eat better food, but that’s not my biggest concern at the moment.

Outlaw nods, taking out his phone. “Alright. I’ll pull up their menu on my phone, just point to what you want.” He opens up the Smoothie King app and navigates to their menu. I look over the options. Most of them are some variation of chocolate, banana, or strawberry, which don’t interest me. Eventually, I find something that sounds tasty, so I gently peck at the screen and point to what I want. “Oh, you want the mocha?” Outlaw asks. I nod. “Sweet, that one’s my favourite. I’ll grab something else. Which size do you want?”

I try to make myself look as big as I can, stretching out my wings and puffing out my feathers.

“Large?”

I nod.

“Alright, cool.” He turns back to his phone, finishing up his order. I look away so I don’t accidentally see his payment info. I don’t know his legal name, and frankly, I don’t want to know it. That’s his business, not mine. Besides, even if I did know his legal name, I’d still call him Outlaw. That’s the name he (probably) chose. And that goes for anyone, I always call them by the name they chose and actively go by, or a nickname/variant of it if I’m close to them. Any other name doesn’t matter.

Outlaw speeds up to a brisk pace, most likely to get to Smoothie King in time to pick up his order. While the additional breeze is nice, I have to grip onto Outlaw’s shirt so I don’t fall off. I then remember something important, at the worst possible time. I was so busy trying to get the hell out of the building that I didn’t get to see what Yukako had in her hand. I gently peck Outlaw’s shoulder to get his attention. As soon as he notices, I carefully climb onto his backpack and unzip it enough for me to fit in. Then I burrow into it and search for my hoodie pocket, and once I feel the object, I grab it with my beak and wiggle out of the backpack.

It’s a purple Swiss army knife with some letters engraved on it. Outlaw takes it from me and reads the markings. “It’s someone’s name, probably hers. Want me to tell you what it is?”

I shake my head. I’d rather hear it from Yukako.

“Suit yourself, dude.” He drops the knife into his backpack and zips it back up. “We’re here.”

Damn. Unsurprisingly, the building seems huge from my perspective. I know it’s not actually like that, but I’ll let myself be impressed for no reason. I probably won’t be in this form again for a while.

Outlaw casually pushes the door open, a bell ringing to alert the workers that a customer has entered. Two messy-looking dudes are behind the counter, one of them has a noticeable red stripe in his otherwise perfectly black hair. I look at his eyes to try and confirm my suspicions. Yep. He’s a merman.

“Hey, Outlaw!” the merman greets and waves at Outlaw.

“Yo, Craig.” The two fistbump like they’re best friends. Looks like Outlaw’s a regular here. “How’s work?”

“Eh, it’s work.” Craig cracks his knuckles and neck. “At least I’m getting paid, y’know? Anyways, here’s your order.” He holds up two large smoothies with writing on the cups to differentiate between them, and hands them to Outlaw.

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem. By the way, who’s your friend there?” I assume he’s talking about me.

“Oh, that’s my buddy Jay. He finally learned how to transform after, what, sixteen years?”

“No kidding? Took him that long?”

“I mean, to be fair, he never looked in a mirror.”

I angrily peck at Outlaw. No need to add insult to injury.

“Okay, sheesh, sorry dude,” Outlaw apologizes. “Anyways, I gotta get this guy home. Seeya in class Monday.”

“Take it easy, Gunslinger.” Craig waves at Outlaw as we exit the building.


End file.
